I just discovered you guys? Is it too late for me to sign up a team?
We always have new leagues starting and current leagues with extra capacity. Give us a call you might be surprised how fast we can get you on the field.

How much does it cost to play?

Cost varies by sport and by season. Here's the range, but it can change depending on many circumstances.

Softball: Team $825-$850 | Individual $65-85

Kickball : Team $650-$700 | Individual $65-85

Bowling: Team $375-$450 | Individual $65-85

Flag Football: Team $650-$700| Individual $65-85

Volleyball: Team $435-$500 | Individual $65-85

Dodgeball: Team $350-$400 I Individual $65-$85

Cornhole: Team $200 I Individual $55

Bocce: Team $295 I Individual $55

How big of a trophy do I get when I crush all of your other wimpy teams with my traveling tournament Softball team?
We don’t do trophies…. and also you’re a jerk.

I just moved to Portland and I don't know enough people to put together a team but I wanna play, what should I do?
No problem. Sign up as an individual and USL will place you on a team with other individual sign-ups in your skill level. We compile the teams and then notify you about who your other teammates are and when you'll be playing. Many of our past individual teams stick together season after season, so it's often a good way to meet some new friends.

I know a ton of people who want to play but I am not sure of being a captain. I am nervous asking people for money and also I am scared of not being able to get enough players from week to week …
You can try using many of the tools we have built here at Underdog like TeamPayer that allows you to collect money electronically, and you can use your team RSVP tool to see who can commit to each game on your schedule. If all that seems too much for you, well maybe just ask your friend to sign up the team instead. We can even switch captains of past teams for you if you want.

I need to go hang out on the tropical island I own for 6 months every year. Can I make someone else the captain of my existing team?
YES. Give us a call.

What does Waitlist mean?

We have a certain capacity for each league location. Because you don't want to play at 6am or start a game at 11p, we can only

take so many teams. If the league you wanted is "Waitlisting" that means you can still signup. You're team will be placed on the waitlist for that league in case any of the teams who signed up before you drop out. You are not charged a depost for getting your name on the waitlist.

What if I want to play on more than one team?

Go fot it! Play as much as you would like. If you are playing at different locations or in different skill divisions you might miss due to schedule...but you can also submit a schedule request if you notice a conflic ahead of time. If, however, you are signed up for two teams in the same division....you will have to choose which team to play for in the playoffs.

SIGNING UP AS AN INDIVIDUAL

What is an individual sign-up?

We call them Indy sign-ups. Basically it means that you don’t have a team to play with, but still want to play a sport. You sign up by yourself and we’ll take you and all the other people who signed up individually and put you together to form a team. So, day one everyone is in the same boat. Many of our past individual teams stick together season after season, so it's often a good way to meet some new friends.

When do I know if I have a spot?

When you signup as an individual we place you on the list of people interested in that league. Rather than take your money upfront, we wait until we can guarentee you a spot in the league and when we get enough people intersted, we then offer your a spot. At that time we ask for your confirmation and payment to secure the spot on the team. Due to the nature of signups, it could be a few weeks after your signup before the indy team is ready to be formed. Our goal is to get enough people roughly 2 weeks prior to the season beginning.

I’m not sure if I should play, I’m not that good.

Believe it or not, you’re in the majority, not the minority. That’s where we come in. You don’t need to be an Olympic athlete to play in our leagues.

My friend and I both want to play and sign-up together, but only if we’re on the same team, can you make that happen?

Of course! As soon as you complete a sign-up there is a box asking if there’s anyone you’d like invite. Enter your friend's email address and wha-lah! You'll both be on the same team and your signups are linked. Don't worry though - if you wanna play seprate next seson we can unstick your signups and you'll be free to roam.

OK, I’m on a team, but my teammates are too serious/not serious enough/want to practice 3 times a week/only ever let me play catcher.

If you have issues with the team that you’re on, please give us a call or send us an email. We’ll see what we can do to help you out.

I want to play, but I might have to miss a game in the 3rd week.

If you have to miss a game, that’s not a huge problem. We put extra people on the team as we realize that everyone can’t make every week. However, if you need to miss more than half the season, it’s probably best to pick another league.

Why are there so many people on my Indy team?

We try to put extra people on your team as we realize that people can’t make it every week. So, we’ll put 8 people on your 6 person volleyball team to help make sure your team doesn’t forfeit.

Can you team me with only hot and/or rich people?

Sorry, this isn’t Match.com, we don’t ask for peoples pictures or income when they sign-up.

Our softball team isn’t good, but my friend is really good, can I bring him along and let him play to make us better?

No. You can feel free to bring subs with you if your team might be short, but just bringing your buddy with you to play isn’t fair to the rest of the team. You’re taking away playing time from people who paid to play.

Can I sign up and play on an existing team, but not an Indy team?

We don’t place players on established teams or maintain a “Free Agent” list.

What if I really like my teammates, can I keep them?

Of course….you can always sign up for another season as a full team after your initial Indy team.

LEAGUES

I'm not the greatest athlete, but I'd like to come out and play with you guys... will the leagues be too competitive for me?
No worries. Our sports leagues are fairly laid back and always have divisions for everyday Underdogs. If you're still nervous about playing in a traditional sport like footballl or softball, check out some of our leisure leagues like bowling, mini-golf, and kickball – big on fun and low on skill sets.

Your refs and umps are so witty and handsome...can I ask them out on a date?
No.

You guys run a solid league. Any chance you can help me run my company tournament or league, or help me put on or promote a sports or leisure event?
Sometimes. USL often helps companies in Portland put on tournaments and leagues. Why spend your time trying to learn out how to run a Volleyball tournament when we have been doing them for years? Why spend your energy and resources starting a flag league for your corporation when we've already got everything you need? Just give us a call and we'll discuss the scope and size of your upcoming league or tournament. But no promises…

So you guys do this for a living?
Yes.

For real?
Yes.

Can I work for Underdog on the Field?
We are always looking for great new refs, umps, and site staff to join the Underdog team. Check out our Employment page and submit your info! Just don’t be hurt if we say you will be better off as a player than a referee. We have been doing this for a while…

SCHEDULING

When can I see a schedule for my league?

Generally we do a schedule for the first week of the league about 5-7 days prior to the start date. After the first day of the league, we’ll put together and post a schedule for the full season.

Why the two separate schedule release dates?

We do the first week before the rest for a few reasons.

Schedule requests: Doing it this way gives teams a little longer to put in requests for the schedule.

Competitive Balance: Doing it after the first week gives us the chance to gauge the skill level of all the teams so that we can schedule them more competitively.

Adding Teams: Waiting on the full season schedule gives teams the chance to sign up a little late. By only scheduling the 1st week, we can add them without going back and changing all of your game times to accommodate them.

Can I send in schedule requests?

A Schedule Request Pack can be added to your team balance before the schedule has been made. There is a $50 pack for multiple dates, or a $20 if you just need a single date. A Schedule Request consists of the time, date, or location of your games…Make sure you’re specific on your request! Any requests sent in after the full season schedule has been posted will be considered a game change and will be $30 for each change that we are able to accommodate.

We will do our best to accommodate requests whenever possible, and are able to accommodate them about 95% of the time. However, schedule requests are never guaranteed.

Also, once the playoffs come around, schedule requests become harder to accommodate.

Crap, I forgot to send in my schedule request and the full season schedule is posted….can you bail me out?

Sometimes. Send us an email and let us know what you need and we’ll look into it. In general it’s easier to move one game time than multiple ones, but not even that is guaranteed.

Our friends are on another team, can you make sure you schedule us against them?

Of course! Let us know about it before the season and we’ll make it happen.

We can’t make a certain week at all, can we just get a bye week and make up that game later?

Sometimes. Generally if a league fills up a make-up is not possible as our field space is maxed out.

What holidays do you skip?

Due to field time constraints, we can’t skip every day that is considered a holiday.

We sometimes skip – Mother’s Day (some leagues may have to play on Mother’s Day due to available field time)

What the crap? This Football season says we get 6 guaranteed games but some teams in the league are scheduled for 7 games. What gives?

Occasionally with odd-numbered team leagues we need to schedule additional games for teams.

I see a league that my team wants listed as Monday/Wednesday or Tuesday/Thursday for the Dates … What the heck does that mean?

Split weeknight leagues simply mean that your league has games on both dates during a given week, but your team will only receive 1 game a week during either one of the dates OR the other. (NOT BOTH!)

So can I request my team play all Mondays or all Wednesdays?

You can try but we normally cannot accommodate all of one date requests for a team in a split league.

How do you determine who makes the playoffs?

In general we try and have as many teams as possible make the playoffs (and yes in some leagues you may even make the playoffs with a losing record). Basically it’s never a good idea to assume you made the playoffs, and it’s never a good idea to assume you didn’t. The best thing to do is not to ask a ref or ump but instead check the 1st week playoff schedule on the website a couple of days after the last game of your regular season.

Do all teams make the playoffs?

No…. but some leagues like Bowling and Bocce will have all teams play on the last league night of the season even if they do not qualify for the playoff mini-tournament.

But the ref told me that all teams make the playoffs!!!!

Sorry, but as much as we’d love for him/her to be right the chances are that the ref isn’t the one who makes the schedule and is just making a guess.

I'm freaking out about playoffs and I've run every tie breaker known to man, but still don't know if we're gonna play!!!!

Don’t lose too much sleep over it, we have a system of tiebreakers based on head to head and points against, we’ll run the numbers soon after your regular season ends.

PAYMENT

When is my team fee due?
By the end of the day of your first week of play. Many leagues also require a deposit before you can register for a league. If you are an individual your pre-payment is required to confirm your spot in the league.

$50-$100 Deposit (for a Team Sign Up)? – Is it possible I could lose that deposit?
Only if you cancel your team less than 10 days before the start of the season.

My Teammates stiffed me, one left town and the other paid me with expired TGI Fridays gift cards. Can you just call them and get their money?
No.

Please?
Why didn’t you use TeamPayer?

Can I pay by personal check?
No. Only if it’s a company check and its mailed to the office – Underdog Staff never accept checks or cash at the field.

So can I get an invoice to get my company to pay for some or all of my team?
Sure – invoices and receipts can be printed out from your Player Page.

Other Quick Underdog Concepts

You can always practice and get better, but Underdog never reserves field time for practice or schedules practices for your team… sorry.

Shirts

If you are in a league with team uniform shirts like Kickball or Dodgeball, Underdog will bring those shirts to your first game. You don’t need to come pick them up anywhere. You do need to get us your sizes more than 10 days from the start of your league.

Schedules

Almost all of our leagues have multiple schedules that are delivered to you during a season. If the 1st schedule you get only has one week on it don’t panic. We do it that way on purpose.

Locations

Underdog does its best to have a league be on the same field or a consistent location the entire season. However sometimes we do need to offer different fields or rotator leagues, especially with rainouts. We always try and keep this to a minimum and let you know about additional fields and bye weeks ahead of time.

What is a Sponsor Bar?
For every league that does not have an attached bar (bowling) we try to partner with a bar that's close to the field. In most cases that bar will offer some sort of discount. This amount is up to the bar owner and Underdog does not take any money from the bar. Instead we ask that they treat the players well and give you a great place to hang after your game.

In many cases the league you want that is in the center of the city with a sponsor bar a block away is the same league that everyone else wants too. You should talk to your teammates ahead of time about other opportunities/ back up leagues and locations, so if we have to break the bad news to you, your team can get another spot quickly before they fill up too.